Run, Valentine
by TheOtakuActress
Summary: It's Valentine's Day and love is in the air! It's going to be the perfect day for Equius Zahhak, who has a fool-proof plan to confess to the girl he loves. He just hopes it'll work. EquiusXAradia, One-Shot. Stabdads. I do not own Homestuck! Dedicated to batterbitchin on tumblr.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Homestuck. I own only the story itself. **

**Run, Valentine**

Today was the day. He was going to do it. He had been waiting months to even gather up the courage to think about giving her a present, but now he was.

Today was the day.

Equius Zahhak was ready to give Aradia, his major crush, a Valentine.

He had planned it perfectly: He had gotten up extra early to get dressed and ready, making sure to wear his nicest looking- while still casual- clothes. His present was already prepared. It was sitting innocently in a little red box next to his gift to Nepeta, his best friend. He had made sure to get her q gift she would enjoy- a delicate and beautiful silver chain necklace with a diamond studded Aries pendant. Normally, a present such as that would be too expensive for a seventeen-year-old boy to afford, but the item had been on sale for the holiday, and Equius' dad had given him permission to use some money from his private funds to buy it. His dad had guaranteed that she would love it. Equius dearly hoped so.

The final thing that Equius had prepared was a tiny speech. He wanted everything perfect when he asked her to be his Valentine, especially his words. He had spent a few minutes each day in front of his mirror perfecting his speech and making sure that he was confident. The more he practiced, the better he sounded- and the less he sweats.

He worried about that the most.

A tiny ringing alerted Equius that he had to make his way to school- to what was sure to either be his greatest moment of triumph or his doom. He dearly hoped it was the former.

Grabbing his presents, Equius raced out his door.

Today was the day. She was going to do it. She had been waiting months to even gather up the courage to ask permission to give him a present, but now she was.

Today was the day.

Aradia Megido was ready to ask her daddy permission to give Equius, her major crush, a Valentine.

Aradia knew that if she tried to hide her plan that it would inevitably fall to pieces. Her daddy was none other than the infamous mobster, Diamonds Droog, one of the members of the nefarious Midnight Crew. He was extremely overprotective, and had been on her case as of late to find out if she had a crush. Aradia had evaded his questions and peeking this far, but she didn't want to continue it. Besides, if all went according to plan and Equius and she became a couple, it would only be a matter of time until he found out and tried to kill him. Quite literally.

Aradia did not want that to happen, so with as much confidence as she could gather, she grabbed her Valentine's gift to her father and went to him.

She found him sitting at the breakfast table, reading his grey lady porn- um, his "monochrome beauties literature." He tried to hide it, but Aradia had found out about his reading preferences at a young age. Not that he knew that she knew. It had been the most disturbing day of Aradia's life- but that's another story.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Daddy!" Aradia told him, smiling sweetly. He quickly folded his paper and smiled back at her.

"And back atcha, sweetheart, "He replied. Still smiling, she presented her gift to him. She used the birthday money Uncle Slick had stolen for her to buy her Daddy a new Fedora, one from the latest designer her Daddy had been into.

"Here's your present, Daddy. I hope you like it!" Aradia exclaimed, silently hoping that everything would go her way. She brought the hat out from behind her back and handed it to Droog, whose eyes became wide from surprise.

"Oh, Aradia, is that-? From the latest-?"

She nodded, cheering excitedly on the inside. It was working, it was working. Thank you, Uncle Slick!

"Oh, Aradia, this is amazing! Thank you, sweetheart!" Droog exclaimed, hat already placed upon his head and his arms wrapped around his daughter's shoulders engulfing her in a hug. He went on to admire his hat, excitement evident on his face. Now was the time.

"Um, Daddy? Can I ask you something?" Aradia questioned in the sweet tone she used to try and get the things she wanted.

"Yes, darling?" Droog asked, still focused on his new hat. The gift was in his hands again as he admired it.

"Um, I was just wondering- can I give a Valentine to a guy I like?" Aradia asked quickly, her voice cracking a bit due to nervousness but still soft and sweet.

"Sure, sweetheart, anything for you," he told her, hat placed upon his head once more.

"Thanks Daddy!" Aradia jumped and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek. In the next second she grabbed her school bag, present already placed inside, and was out the door. Best to leave before he noticed what she said.

Droog watched her leave, love in his eyes and his hand on his cheek from where his darling daughter kissed him. That little minx always managed to melt his cold mobster heart. He closed his eyes in contentment.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open again.

"A GUY?!"

Equius was waiting in the courtyard of their high school, MSPA High. He was trying his best not to be nervous, but he couldn't help it- he's had a crush on Aradia since forever.

He hadn't been waiting that long when his best friend Nepeta came up to him.

"Happy Valentine's Day! Meow!" Nepeta said as she handed him a box of chocolates and a stuffed kitty. Pretty standard valentine, it's pretty much been the same thing for years now. Not that Equius was complaining- he adored all the gifts that Nepeta gave him. But the thing he truly wanted was for Aradia to accept his gift. He dearly hoped so.

"And to you too, Nepeta. Thank you for the gift, here's yours-" he didn't finish for Equius spied Aradia from across the courtyard. He blushed immediately; he began to sweat and his breathing stopped.

"HereyougoNepetaihavetogo" Equius breathed out at once as he quickly handed her a box and started to speed walk toward Aradia.

She was sitting on one of the benches outside the main doors to the school. As he got closer she spotted him and stood up with her present hidden from view. In the meantime, Equius was gradually losing courage.

After what felt like forever, Equius finally reached Aradia. By this time he was sweating profusely and his courage was down to level zero. His speech was completely forgotten. But Equius had waited forever for this moment, and he wasn't about to let this slide. He took a deep breath.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Aradia. I got you something, and I was wondering… I was wondering… if…" courage level dropped to negative two. Aradia was looking at him with amusement, which really wasn't helping.

"If I would be your Valentine?" she finished for him.

Unable to speak, Equius just nodded. She giggled and pulled out her gift.

"I would love to be, Equius. I got you something as well," Aradia told him, much to his surprise. The gift was in a simple black box. Equius smiled, his heart still pounding. As she handed him her gift, he gave her the second box.

"For you, Aradia."

Aradia smiled as she accepted his present. "Open yours first, Equius." She told him.

He nodded and opened the box to find a brand new pair of sunglasses, almost identical to his broken pair but from a better brand.

"I hope you like it. It's from a really good brand. I know how you always manage to break your pairs. Well, these are guaranteed to not break at all."

Equius couldn't say anything he was so happy. Luckily, Aradia could read him like an open book.

"I'm glad you like it, Equius!" she said, smiling. Equius snapped out of his thoughts.

"Yes, I truly love it," he replied as he replaced his broken glasses with the brand new pair. "Why don't you open yours…?"

Aradia nodded and her smile grew as she began to open her box. Equius waited in anxious silence. Time seemed to stop as he watched her pull out a soft kitty plush-

Wait.

Oh no.

The box-

No!

Equius' face was one of absolute horror as Aradia curiously studied the "gift." On the inside he was beating himself up. No, no, no! How could be mix up the two boxes? They were colored coded! Color coded!

"A-Aradia, I am so sorry, that's not the right gift, I've made a mistake-" Equius started to say but was cut off as Aradia began to giggle. Confused, he waited for her to stop.

"Oh, Equius, it's alright. I take it this is for Nepeta, right?" she asked. Equius, blushing more than he ever has before, just nodded. "Yes, I figured as much. Plus, I see her over there, fangirling over a necklace?" she asked. Yet again Equius just nodded.

"I- I'm really sorry, Aradia. I can go and tell Nepeta-"

"No, no, its fine, Equius. I really enjoy this gift. Nepeta seems happy too, I don't want to ruin her Valentine's Day." She told him.

"Are you sure…"

"Positive." She replied, smiling and hugging the plush. They both smiled at each other, happy with the turn of events, however odd it was. At that moment the bell rang, signaling the students to hurry and get to class before the school day actually started.

"Um, could I walk you to class, Aradia?" Equius asked.

Aradia nodded, and they both started walking side by side towards the building. "Hey Equius?" Aradia asked.

"Yes?"

"Would it be okay if I held your hand?"

Equius blushed, not having been expecting that. Nevertheless he nodded in agreement. Aradia beamed up at him and reached to grab his hand- surprisingly, it wasn't sweaty at all.

The two of the them walked hand in hand into the high school and towards their respective homerooms. "I'm really happy that you're my Valentine, Aradia. I really like you," Equius told her.

"I'm happy too, Equius, and I really like you too." She replied.

The two smiled at each other as they reached their classrooms.

"Um, I'll see you next period?" Equius asked.

Aradia nodded. "Yes, we will. Once again, thank you for the gift, Equius. And don't worry about the gift mistake. Nepeta looked so pleased. It seemed like everyone is happy today!"

"Not everyone, sweetheart."

Both lovebirds froze as they heard the rough voice of one Diamonds Droog. One extremely overprotective, angry Diamonds Droog. Not even bothering to turn around Aradia whispered to Equius.

"Run, Valentine."

~FIN~

_**This fanfic was initially written as a Valentine Day's version of secret Santa. Therefore this story is dedicated to tumblr user batterbitchin, who is really awesome and cool!**_

_**I know I'm posting this months after V.D., but I just found it in my folders on my computer, and I really wanted to upload it.**_

_**I really hope you enjoyed this, valentine! I worked really hard on it, and I really hope it pleases you! 3 this was really fun to write, as well. Happy Valentine's Day!**_

_**Thanks for any reviews, favorites, and/or follows!**_


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